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LIBRARY 


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Treasure  %oom 


GOD  A  REWARDER. 


SERMON, 


DELIVERED 


TABERNACLE  IN  SALEM^ 
LORD'S  DAY, 

JAN.  27,  1811. 


BY  SAMUEL  WORCESTER,  A.M. 


SALEM  .- 
TRINTED  BY  THOMAS  C.  GUSHING 

18H. 


SERMON. 


HEBREWS,  xi.  6. 

— For  he  that  Cometh  to  God  must  bei.tuve  tiia.t  he  is, 
AND  that  he  is  a  hewarder  oy  THEM  that  diligently  seek 

HIM. 


The  God  who  made  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  is  the  fame  yefterday,  to  day,  and  forever. 
The  characfer,  in  which  he  is  revealed  to  us  under 
the  gofpel,  is  the  fame  with  that,  in  which  he  was 
revealed  to  the  patriarchs  of  the  firft  ages;  and  in 
every  period  of  the  world,  the  true  worlhippers  of 
liim,  have  entertained  effentially  the  fame  views  of 
his  perfections,  of  his  government,  and  of  the  way 
of  acceptance  with  him.  This  is  ftrongly  implied, 
in  the  reprefcntations  made  by  the  apoftlc,  in  the 
connexion  of  our  text. 

Salvation  by  faith,  on  the  ground  of  the  atone- 
ment  by  Chrifl,  is  the  leading  fubjecl  of  this  epillle; 
and,  in  this  eleventh  cliapter,  the  apoflle  diilinclly 
cites  fome  very  ftriking  examples  of  the  power  of 
faith  in  different  and  dil^ant  ages.  Among  theie 
examples,  that  of  Enoch,  in  the  antediluvian  world, 
is  particularly  confpicuous.  "  By  faith  l^noch  was 
tranflated,  that  he  might  not  fee  death;  and  was 
not  found,  becaufe  God  had  tranflated  him:  for  be- 
fore his  tranflation  he  had  this  teftimony,  that  he 
pleafcd  God.  But  without  faith  it  is  impoflible  to 
pleafe  him:  for  he  that  comctb  io  God  miiji  believe  that 
he  is,  a?id  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently 
fcek  him.**     The  argument  here  is,  that,  fmce  Enoch 


had  the  tefllmony  that  he  pleafed  God,  he  muft 
have  had  faith  j  becaufe  it  is  impoflible  to  pleafe  God 
without  faith:  for  every  one  who  comes  to  God,  as 
a  true  and  acceptable  worfhipper,  muft  at  leaft  be- 
lieve, not  only  that  he  exifts,  but  alfo  that  thofe 
who  diligently  feek  him,  will  find  him  a  rewarder. 

The  phrafe,  "  he  that  cometh  to  God,"  evident- 
ly denotes  one,  who  has  true  religion;  and  perfons 
of  the  fame  character  are  doubtleis  to  be  underftood 
alfo,  by  "them  that  diligently  feek  him."  The 
plain  doctrine  of  the  text  then  is  this:  There  can 

BE  NO  TP.a£  RELIGION,  WITHOUT  A  BELIEF  IN  GoD 
AS    A    REWARDER  OF  THE  TRULY  PIOUS. In    difcuf- 

iing  this  doctrine,  I  propole, 

I.  To  coniider  fome  leading  particulars,  implied 
in  God's  being  a  rewarder  of  the  truly  pious;  and 
then, 

II.  To  ftiew  wiiy  there  can  be  no  true  religion, 
without  a  belief  in  this  part  of  the  divine  character, 

The  proper  and  ftrict  fenfe  of  reward  is,  recom- 
pence  for  good.  Sometimes,  indeed,  a  recompcnce 
for  evil  is  called  a  reward;  but  this  is  a  departure 
from  ftrict  precifton  of  language.  Strictly  and  pro- 
perly, punliliment  is  the  recompence  for  evil,  and 
reward  the  recompence  for  good.  Reward  often 
carries  in  it  an  acknowledgment  of  fojnething  due; 
and  implies  that  the  receiver  of  it  has  merited,  or 
earned,  and,  on  the  fcore  of  juftice,  may  demand, 
the  good  recompence.  This,  however,  is  not  al- 
ways the  cafe.  According  to  an  acceptation  of  the 
term,  neither  unufual  nor  improper, the  beftowment 
of  any  thing  good,  as  a  token  of  favour,is  as  really  a 
reward,  as  the  payment  of  a  debt,  or  a  compenfation 
for  fervice,  in  the  exercife  of  juftice. 

On  the  fcore  of  retributive  juftice,  men,  even  the 
beft  of  them,  have  no  claim  upon  God  for  a  recom- 
pence of  rev/ard.  They  are  unprofitable  fervants ; 
they  deferve  from  him  nothing  but  evil;  and,  if  they 
receive  good  at  his  handsg  it  muft  be  through  the  me* 


diation  of  Chrlft,  and  only  in  the  way  of  mere  fa- 
vour. Accordingly  the  fcriptures  arc  clear  in  mak- 
ing this  diftinction;  and  moft  decilively  teach  us, 
that  the  reward  of  the  righteous  is  to  be  reckoned, 
not  of  debt,  but  of  grace.  Yet,  while  the  fcriptures 
maintain  this  diflinclion,  they  amply  declare,  that 
*' verily  there  is  a  reward  for  the  righteous,'*  and 
that  their  "reward  in  heaven  is  great." — Though 
the  righteous,  then,  have  no  claim  upon  God,  on  the 
fcore  of  merit;  yet  if,  in  his  infinite  goodnefs,  he 
will  confer  good  upon  them,  in  token  of  his  favour, 
he  may  with  ftrict  propriety,  be  called  a  rewardcr  of 
them. — But  what  is  i?nplied  in  God's  being  a  re- 
WARDEP.  of  the  truly  pious? 

1.  It  is  implied,  that  he  regards  them  with  com* 
placency. 

**  There  is  not  indeed  a  righteous  man  upon  earth, 
that  doeth  good  and  iinneth  not ;"  yet  the  fcrip- 
tures conftantly  diftinguifli  between  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked;  and  nothi.ig  is  plainer,  than  that, 
in  the  fcripture  fenfe,  the  righteous  are  they,  who, 
imperfect  as  they  are,  yet  truly  love  and  fear  God, 
Reconciled  to  him,  by  fiiith  in  the  Redeemer,  they 
walk  humbly  with  him;  they  diligently  feck  him, 
cordially  embrace  his  truth,  and  obediently  obferve 
his  commands.  All  who  arc  of  this  character  are, 
in  the  fcriptural  fcnfe,  righteous,  or  truly  pious. — 
The  fcriptures  alfo  allure  us,  that  thofe  who  are  of 
this  character,  the  Lord  regards  with  complacency. 
They  aflure  us  that  the  Lord  lovcth  the  righteous, 
that  he  is  ever  nigh  unto  them,  that  he  holds  them 
as  his  treafure;  that  his  affection  towards  them  in- 
finitely exceeds  that  of  a  mother  towards  her  fuck- 
ing child,  and  that  he  will  have  them  in  everlafling 
remembrance. 

Plain  as  it  is  from  the  ample  reprefentations  of 
fcripture,  that  the  truly  pious  are  objects  of  divin© 
complacency;  it  is  no  lefs  certain  that  it  mull  be  fo, 
if  God  is  a  rewarder  of  them.     On  the  fcorc  of 


merit,  on  the  principle  of  retributive  juftice,  they 
have  no  claim  upon  Godj  and,  therefore,  if  he  con, 
fer  a  reward  upon  them,  it  mull  be  in  token  of  his 
favour.  But  why  (liould  he  confer  a  reward  upon 
them,  as  an  exprcflion  of  his  favour,  if  he  do  not 
regard  them  with  complacency  ?  For  Chrifi' s  fake  in- 
deed,their  fins  are  forgiven, and  they  are  juftified  and 
reftored  to  the  divine  favour:  but  we  are  now  con- 
fidering,  diftinclly,  the  reward  which  they  are  to  re- 
ceive, after  being  thus  pardoned,  juftified  and  reftor- 
ed, Would  it  not,  then,  be  palpably  abfurd  to  fup- 
pofe,  that  God  will  confer  a  reward,  as  an  expreftion 
of  his  favour,  upon  thofe  in  whom  he  has  no  delight  ? 

That  God's  being  a  rewarder  of  the  righteous 
does  imply,  that  he  regards  them  with  complacen- 
cy, is  farther  evident,  from  the  reward  itfelf  which 
he  propofes  to  confer.  What  then  is  Uiis  reward? 
It  is  nothing  lefs,  than  immortal  felicity  and  glory, 
in  his  celeftial  prefence  and  kingdom.  This,  cer- 
tainly, is  what  is  conftantly  held  out  in  the  fcrip- 
tures  as  the  reward  of  the  truly  pious.  But  what 
higher  evidence  than  this,  could  pofTibly  be  given, 
that  they  are  indeed  objecls  of  his  high  complacen- 
cy ?  Would  he  admit  to  his  prefence,  where  there 
is  fulnefs  of  joy,  and  to  his  right  hand,  where  there 
are  pleafures  forevermore,  thofe  in  whom  he  did 
not  delight  ?  Befides,  is  it  not  from  the  manifefta- 
tioiis  of  his  love  to  them,  that  the  felicity  and  glory 
of  the  righteous,  in  his  prefence  and  kingdom,  is,  in 
great  part,  to  refult?  Could  they  be  happy  there — 
could  they  enjoy  the  promifed  reward — if  he  did 
pot  delight  in  them? 

On  the  whole,  it  is  too  evident  for  contradidion 
or  doubt,  that,  if  God  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that 
diligently  feek  him,  he  muft  regard  them  with  com^ 
placency. 

2.  God's  being  a  rewarder  of  the  truly  pious  imr- 
plies,  that  he  is  difpofed  to  let  his  complacency  in 
them  be  known. 


The  father  of  a  family  may  have  particular  com- 
placency, in  fuch  of  his  children  as  are  more  dutiful 
than  the  reil;  the  preceptor  of  a  fchool  may  have 
particular  complacency,  in  fuch  of  his  pupils  as  ac- 
quit themfelves  well;  the  fovcrcign  of  a  nation 
may  have  particular  complacency,  in  the  moft  loyal 
and  deferving  of  hi::  fubjecls:  and  yet,  for  certain 
reafons,  neither  of  them  may  deem  it  proper,  to 
make  his  particular  complacency  known.  But 
lliould  the  father,  the  preceptor,  and  the  fovercign, 
refpeftively  comer  rewards,  in  the  levcral  cafes,  a 
difpoHtion  to  let  their  complacency  be  known  would 
be  decilivcly  evinced.  Nor  lefs  decifively  is  the  lame 
difpofition  implied,  in  God's  being  a  rcwardcr  of 
them  that  diligently  fcek  him. 

Though  the  word  of  God  is  replete  with  evidence, 
that  he  lOves  the  righteous;  yet  the  individual  ob- 
jecfs  of  his  complacency  are  not,  in  the  prefent  ftate, 
diftinclly  declared.  "The  righteous,  and  the  wife, 
and  their  works,"  fays  the  royal  Preacher,  "are  in 
the  hand  of  God;  and  no  man  knoweth  either  love 
or  hatred  by  all  that  is  before  them."  By  the  con- 
ditions of  the  prefent  life,  or  by  the  difpenfations  of 
providence  towards  men  in  this  world,  it  is  not 
made  diftinclly  to  appear,  that  God  is  a  rewarder  of 
them  that  diligently  feek  him,  or  that  he  regards 
them  as  objects  of  his  fpecial  love.  It  is  not  his  in- 
tention, however,  that  his  love  to  them  fliould  for- 
ever be  concealed,  or  held  under  a  veil.  If  he  is  a 
rewarder  of  the  righteous,  he  certainly  is  difpofed 
to  let  his  regard  to  them  clearly  appear;  and  when 
the  promifed  reward  fhall  be  conferred,  his  fpecial 
and  everlafting  love  to  them,  both  collecliveiy  and 
individually,  will  be  made  known. 

3.  God's  being  a  rewarder  of  the  truly  pious  im- 
plies, that  he  will  eventually  m.ake  a  vifibic  and  pub- 
lic diftinclion,  between  them  and  the  wicked. 

Does  God  love  the  righteous  ?  And  is  he  difpof- 
ed to  let  his  love  to  them  be  known  ?     Then,  beyond 


8 

queftion,  there  muft  eventually  be  made,  betweea 
them  and  the  wicked,  a  public  and  vifible  diftinc- 
tion :  for  without  fuch  a  diftindtion,  how  can  his 
love  to  them  be  made  manifeft? — In  this  world,  as 
already  noticed,  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  are 
not  vifibly  and  publicly  diftinguifhed,  by  any  deci- 
five  marks  of  divine  approbation,  or  difapprobation  j 
and  therefore  it  is,  that,  here^  there  is  no  clear  exhi- 
bition of  the  character  of  God,  as  a  rewarder.  And 
fhould  a  diftindion  never  be  made,  this  part  of  the 
divine  character  could  never  be  clearly  difplayed. 

Reward,  indeed,  necelTarily  implies  diflinction.  If 
the  father  of  a  family  confers  a  reward,  on  his  more 
dutiful  children,  he  makes  a  diflinction  between 
them  and  the  reft  of  his  children.  If  the  preceptor 
of  a  fchool  confers  a  reward,  on  fuch  of  his  pupils  as 
acquit  themfelves  well,  he  makes  a  diftinclion  be- 
tween them  and  the  reft  of  his  pupils.  If  the  fove- 
reign  of  a  nation  confers  a  reward,  on  the  moft  loyal 
and  deferving  of  his  fubjecls,  he  makes  a  diftinc- 
tion  between  them  and  the  reft  of  his  fubjefts.  For 
fhould  the  father,  the  preceptor,  or  the  fovereign, 
make  no  diftinclion,  but  confer  upon  the  bad  the 
fame  favours  which  he  confers  upon  the  good,  the 
very  eftence  of  reward  would  be  utterly  loft.  Nor 
is  it  lefs  clear,  that,  in  conferring  a  reward  upon  the 
righteous,  God  muft  make  a  diftinftion  between 
them  and  the  Vv'icked:  for,  Ihould  he  confer  upon 
the  wicked  the  fame  favours  which  he  does  upon 
the  righteous,  his  love  to  the  righteous  could  not 
appear,  nor  could  he,  in  any  proper  fenfe,  be  conli- 
dered  as  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  feek  him. 

Moreover,  immortal  life  and  glory,  in  his  prefencc 
and  kingdom,  is  the  reward  which  God  has  promif- 
ed  to  the  righteous.  Let  it  then  be  diftindly  noted, 
that,fliould  immortal  life  and  glory  be  conferred  on 
the  wicked,  as  well  as  on  the  righteous,  the  very 
idea  of  reward  would  be  utterly  precluded.  No- 
thing can  be  a  reward,  which  is  conferred,  without 


diftincliion,  upon  all.  If,  then,  the  immortal  felici- 
ties of  heaven  are  to  be  conferred  upon  the  righteous, 
as  their  gracious  reward;  it  follows  of  neceflity, 
that,  from  thofe  felicities,  the  wicked  muft  be  ex- 
cluded; and  therefore  that,  between  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked,  a  diftinclion  muft  be  made,  as  viii- 
blc  and  public,  as  it  will  be  momentous  and  durable. 

Accordingly  the  fcriptures  throughout  moft  deci- 
fively  declare,  that  fuch  a  diftinclion  will  be  made. 
A  few,  out  of  the  many  pailages  to  this  effecl,  may 
here  fuffice.  "The  ungodly  Ihall  not  ftand  in 
the  judgment,  nor  fmners  in  the  congregation 
of  the  righteous.'**  ^'The  Lord  knowcth  the 
days  of  the  upright;  and  their  inheritance  fhall 
be  forever. — But  the  wicked  fhall  pcrifli,  and 
the  enemies  of  the  Lord  fliall  be  as  the  fat  of  lambs  : 
they  fliall  confume,  into  fmoke  fhall  they  confume 
away."t  "Say  ye  to  the  righteous,  that  it  fliall  be 
well  with  him,  for  they  fliall  eat  the  fruit  of  their 
doings.  Wo  unto  the  wicked!  it  fliall  be  ill  withhim; 
for  the  reward  of  his  hands  fhall  be  given  him. "J 
"For  them  that  feared  the  Lord  and  that  thought 
upon  his  name,  a  book  of  remembrance  was  written 
before  him.  And  they  fhall  be  mine,  faith  the  Lord 
of  hofts,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up  my  jewels ; 
and  I  will  fpare  them,  as  a  man  fpareth  his  own  fon 
that  ferveth  him.  Then  ye  fhall  return  and  diiccrn 
between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked ;  between  him 
that  ferveth  God  and  him  that  ferveth  him  not."§ 
'*The  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are  in 
the  graves  fhall  hear  his  voice,  and  fhall  come  forth ; 
they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the  refurreclion  of 
life;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  rcfurrec- 
tion  of  damnation."  jl  "When  the  fon  of  man  fliall 
come  in  his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him, 
then  fliall  he  fit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory:  and 
before  him  fliall  be  gathered  all  nations;  and  he  fliall 
feparate  them  one  from  another,  as  a  fliepherd.divid- 

B 

♦  Psalm  i.  5.     f  Ps.  Txxvii,  18—20.     \  Isa.  iii.  10, 11. 

§Mal.iu.  16-.ie.     II  J.;!ui  v.  2S,  i9. 


10 

eth  his  flieep  from  the  goats.  And  he  fhall  fet  the 
flieep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  his  left. 
Then  fiiall  the  king  fay  unto  them  on  his  right  hand. 
Come,  ye  bleffed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 
Then  fhall  he  fay  alfo  unto  them  on  his  left  hand. 
Depart  from  me,  ye  curfed,  into  everlafting  fire,  pre- 
pared for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  And  thcfe  fhall 
go  away  into  everlafting  punifliment ;  but  the  right- 
eous into  life  eternal."*  "  But  after  thy  hardnefs  and 
impenitent  heart,  trcafurell  up  to  thyfelf  wrath 
againfl  the  day  of  wrath,and  revelation  of  the  right- 
eous judgment  of  God ;  who  will  render  to  eve- 
cry  man  according  to  his  deeds :  to  them  who,  by 
patient  continuance  in  well  doing,  feek  for  glory  and 
honour  and  immortality,  eternal  life;  but  unto 
them  that  are  contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the 
truth,  but  obey  unrighteoufnefs,  indignation  and 
wrath,  tribulation  and  anguifh,  upon  every  foul  of 
man  that  doeth  evil,  of  the  Jew  firfl,  and  alfo  the 
Gentile.*T  "  Verily  there  is  a  reward  for  the  right- 
eous :*'{ — but  "is  not  deitruclion  to  the  wicked, 
and  a  ftrange  punifhmcnt  to  the  workers  of  iniqui- 
ty !"§  Verily,  in  fhewing  himfelf  the  rewarder  of 
the  righteous,  God  will  make,  between  them  and  the 
wicked,  a  dillindlioft  the  mofl  public  and  confpicu- 
ous.     But 

II.  We  are  to  conflder,  why  there  can  be  no  true 
religion,  without  a  belief  in  this  part  of  the  divine 
character. — "H^  that  cometh  unto  God  muji  believe 
that — he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  feek  himJ* 
But  why  is  it  fo? 

I.  Without  this  belief,  there  can  be  no  true  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  divine  perfections. 

God  regards  the  righteous  with  complacency. 
This  truth,  as  we  have  feen,  is  clearly  implied  in  his 
being  their  rewarder;  nor  does  it  lefs  clearly  refult 
from  his  moral  perfections.     "The  Lord  lovcth  the 

•  Mat.  XXV.  31-46,      t  Rom.  ih  5—7.        \  Ps.  Iviii.  2.      §  Job  xxsi.  i. 


11 

righteous," — ^becaufe  he  himfelf  is  righteous.     A 
holy  being  muft  love  thofe  who  are  holy. 

"  We  know  that  we  have  paffed  from  death  unto 
life,  becaufe  we  love  the  brethren."*  But  why  is 
this  an  evidence?  Becaufe  he  who  has  a  fpccial 
love  for  the  holy  brethren,  mufl  be  formed  to  the 
love  of  holinefs;  and  muft,  therefore,  himfelf  be 
holy.  For  the  fame  reafon,  they  who  are  born  of 
God  fupremely  love  Him.  Being  "renewed  after 
his  image,  in  righteoufnefs  and  true  holinefs,"  they 
love  Him,  who  is  infinitely  holy,  with  fupreme  com- 
placency.— But  if  holy  creatures  love  God,  on 
account  of  his  holinefs;  He  alfo  loves  them,  on  ac- 
count of  their  holinefs.  Though  the  beft  of  faints, 
in  this  world,  are  imperfect;  yet  for  all  that  is  holy 
in  them,  God  regards  them  with  complacency.  For 
Chrift's  fake,  he  forgives  their  imperfections,  and, 
in  Chrift,  he  loves  them,  as  thofe  in  whom  his 
image  is  reftored.  He  loves  them  for  all  their  evan-. 
gelical  repentance,  faith,  love,  and  newnefs  of  life. 
Accordingly  Jefus  Chrift  fays,  "If  a  man  love  me, 
he  will  keep  my  words:  and  my  Father  will  love 
him;  and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our 
abode  with  him."t  This  is  becaufe  both  the  Father 
and  the  Son  are  holy.  The  feraphim  before  the  throne 
"cry,  one  unto  another.  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the 
I.ord  of  hofts;" — and  holy  he  certainly  muft  be,  if 
he  loves  and  will  reward  the  truly  pious. 

Nor  is  it,  on  the  other  hand,  lefs  evidently  certain 
that,  without  a  belief  in  him  as  a  rewarder  of  the 
righteous,  there  can  .be  no  true  acknowledgment 
of  his  moral  perfedions.  If  it  be  not  believed, 
that  he  does  love  the  righteous,  or  that  he  has  a 
fpecial  complacency  in  them,  how  can  he  be  regard-r 
ed  as  a  holy  God?  Muft  it  not  involve  a  moft  paU 
pable  contradiction  to  fuppofe,  that  a  God  of  infi- 
nite holinefs  has  not  a  fpecial  complacency  in  his  ho- 
ly creatures? — or  does  not,  as  the  fcripture  empha- 
tically exprefles  it,  love  the  righteous,  but  hate  the 

•  1  JdhQ  iii.  !♦.        t  J^'l"»  si'^-  23. 


12 

workers  of  iniquity?  Unqucftionably,  to  fuppofe 
that  God  has  no  more  complacency  in  the  righteous, 
than  he  has  in  the  wicked,  and  is  no  more  difpofed 
to  reward  the  one,  than  the  other,  is,  in  effecl,  to 
fuppofe  that,  he  has  no  more  delight  in  holinefs 
than  in  fin,  and,  therefore,  that  he  cannot  himfelf 
be  holy. 

Between  virtue  and  vice,  holinefs  and  lin,  there 
is  a  wide  and  efi'ential  difference;  an  abfolute  and 
eternal  contrariety.  This  difference,  this  contrarie- 
ty, however,  it  mufl  be  fuppofed  that  God  will  ut- 
terly difregard;  if  it  be  not  believed,  that  he  is  a 
rewarder  of  the  truly  pious.  But  what  is  this  again, 
but  to  flrip  him  at  once  of  his  moral  perfections? 
It  is  to  make  him  indifferent  to  moral  good  and 
evil;  it  is  to  make  him  unholy  and  unjufl. 

It  deferves,  moreover,  to  be  diflinftly  confidered, 
that,  in  his  word  which  he  has  given  to  m.ankind, 
God  has  moft  clearly  declared  the  difference  between 
holinefs  and  fin,  and  between  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked,  with  correfpondent  exprefhons  of  love  and 
hatred,  complacency  and  abhorrence;  and  has,  in 
the  moft unequivocalandfolemnmanner,pronounced 
promifes  of  glorious  revv'ard  to  the  one  clafs,  and 
threatenings  of  terrible  punifhment  to  the  other. 
If  then  we  do  not  believe,  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of 
them  that  diHgently  feek  him;  we  muft  fuppofe, 
that  he  will  utterly  difregard  his  word — the  law 
which  he  has  given,  the  declarations  of  his  own 
feelings  which  he  has  made,  and  both  the  promifes 
and  the  threatenings  which  he  has  uttered:  and, 
therefore,  that  he  cannot  be  a  God  either  of  equity 
or  of  truth. 

In  a  word,  if  God  is  a  being  of  infinite  holinefs, 
juflice,  goodnefs,  and  truth,  he  muft  be  a  rewarder 
of  them  that  diligently  feek  him;  and,  hence,  with- 
out a  belief  in  him  as  fuch  a  rewarder,  there  cer- 
tainly can  be  no  true  acknowledgment  of  his  moral 
perfections. 


i 


13 

2.  Without  a  belief  that  God  is  a  rewarder  of 
the  truly  pious,  there  can  be  no  right  affections,  or 
feelino-s  of  heart  towards  him. 

o 

There  can  be  no  right  feelings  of  heart  towards 
God,  without  juft  views  of  his  moral  characfter.  If 
he  is  not  truly  regarded  as  a  Being  of  infinite  holi- 
nefs,  juftice,  goodnefs,  and  truth,  there  can  be  no 
foundation  for  thofe  holy  alTe6lions  towards  him, 
which  the  fcriptures  reprefent  as  belonging  to  the 
pious  foul.  Do  men  regard  God  as  a  Being,  who 
has  no  more  delight  in  holinefs  than  in  fin;  no 
more  love  for  the  righteous  than  for  the  wicked? 
And  do  they,  then,  truly  love  him?  Certainly  not. 
But  if  they  love  the  character  which  they  afcribe  to 
God;  it  is  not,  however,  the  true  character  of  the 
Holy  One  of  Ifrael  which  they  love;  nor  can  their 
love  be  holy.  They  form  in  their  vain  imagina- 
tions a  faife,  an  unholy  characfler;  and  their  love  is 
felfifh  and  unholy.  But  thus  it  muft  neceffarily  be 
with  thofe,  who  do  not  believe  in  God  as  a  rewarder 
of  them  that  diligently  feek  him.  They  do  not 
truly  acknowledge  God's  moral  perfections;  they 
do  not  contemplate  him  as  a  holy  God ;  and  there- 
fore cannot  have  any  right  feelings  of  heart  towards 
him.  They  cannot  regard  him  with  the  feelings  of 
holy  fear,  of  holy  repentance,  of  holy  confidence, 
of  holy  fubmifilon,  of  holy  joy,  or  of  holy  devotion. 
They  cannot,  in  a  word,  truly  "come  unto  him.'* 
Hence, 

3,  Without  a  belief  in  God  as  a  rcM^arder  of  them 
that  diligently  feek  him,  there  can  be  no  true  com- 
pliance with  any  of  his  requirements. 

Where  there  are  no  right  affedions  towards  God, 
certainly  there  can  be  no  true  obedience.  "The 
Lord  looketh  on  the  heart."  "Thou  flialt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
foul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  firft  and 
great  commandment.  And  the  fecond  is  like  unto 
it,  Thou  flialt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyfelf.     On 


14 

tliefe  two  commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets.'**  With  '•  the  y?;y^  and  great  command- 
ment," as  already  we  have  feen,  there  can  be  no 
true  compliance,  without  a  belief  in  God  as  a  re- 
warder — without  a  belief  in  his  moral  perfections. 
But  "the  fecond  is  like  unto"  the  firft.  It  requires 
the  fame  temper  of  heart,  the  fame  holy  affection. 
If,  in  obedience  to  the  firft,  we  enthrone  God  as  the 
fovereign  of  all  our  affedions;  we  fhall  of  courfe, 
in  obedience  to  the  fecond,  love  our  neighbour  as 
ourfelves :  for  we  fhall  love  both  our  neighbour  and 
ourfclves,  with  an  affeftion  facredly  fubordinate  to 
our  love  to  God;  and,  therefore,  only  in  fuch  man- 
ner  and  meafure,  as  fhall  be  compatible  with  a  fu» 
prcme  regard  to  his  glory.  But,  if  we  have  not 
that  love  to  God  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  firfl 
commandjWe  cannot  have  that  love  to  our  neighbour 
wliich  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  fecond.  If  holy  love 
to  God  do  not  reign  in  our  hearts,  fubjecling  and 
confecrating  all  other  aft'eclions,  we  fhall  have  no 
love  to  our  neighbour,  which  is  not  partial,  felfifh 
and  unholy.  "On  thefe  two  commandments,  how- 
ever, hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets,"  all  the  di- 
vine requirements;  and,  therefore,  if  holy  love  to 
God  and  our  neighbour  be  abfent,  there  can  be  no 
true  obedience. 

The  gofpel  indeed  requires,  that  we  fhould  rc« 
pent;  that  with  genuine  contrition  of  heart,  wq 
fliould  turn  from  all  fin  unto  God.  But  how  can 
we  do  this,  if  we  have  no  true  love  to  God,  ntDr 
any  juft  views  of  his  moral  perfections.  The  gof- 
pel alfo  requires,  that  we  fliould  believe  in  the  Lord 
Jefus  Chriit,  for  the  purpofes  of  pardon,  of  juftifi- 
cation  with  God,  of  deliverance  from  wrath  to  come, 
and  of  eternal  life  and  glory.  But  how  can  we 
have  true  faith  in  Chrift,  who  is  the  exprefs  image 
of  the  Father,  if  we  neither  truly  love  God,  nor  ac-r 
knowledge  his  infinite  holinefs,  juftice,goodnefs,  and 
Uuth?     "He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  the  Father  al. 

*  Mat.  xxU.  37—40. 


I 


15 

fo."  Befides,  how  can  we  believe  in  Clirift,  for 
pardon  and  juftification  through  the  merits  of  his 
death,  if  we  regard  God  as  indiifercnt  to  hoUnefs 
and  fin?  If  fuch  be  his  charader,  atonement,  for- 
givenefs  and  juftification  can  be  but  mere  names. 
Or  how  can  we  beUeve  in  Chrift,  for  deliverance 
from  wrath  to  come,  or  for  eternal  life  and  glory, 
if  we  do  not  believe  in  God  as  a  rewarder  of  the 
righteous?  If  he  is  not;  there  can  be  no  wrath  to 
come  for  thofe  who  do  not  believe,  nor  eternal  life 
and  glory,  as  a  reward,  for  thofe  who  do. 

We  might  proceed  to  a  view,  in  detail,  of  all  the 
divine  requirements;  but  we  have  advanced  far 
enough  to  have  it  obvious,  that,  without  a  belief  in 
God  as  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  feek  him, 
there  can  be  no  true  obedience  to  a  fingle  precept, 
cither  of  his  law  or  of  his  gofpel. 

The  refult  then  is  plain.  If,  without  a  belief  in 
God,  as  a  rewarder  of  the  truly  pious,  there  can  be 
no  true  acknowledgment  of  his  moral  perfections — 
no  right  affections  or  feelings  of  heart  towards  him — 
ind  no  true  compliance  with  any  of  his  require- 
ments; then,  furely,  without  this  belief,  there  can 
be  no  true  religion.  So  clearly  true  it  is,  that, 
"without  faith,  it  is  impofTible  to  pleafe  God.** 

Improfement. 

I.  The  docflrine  of  future  punifKment  is  a  funda- 
mental article  of  true  religion. 

There  can  be  no  true  religion  without  a  belief  in 
God  as  a  rewarder.  Reward  implies  diftinclion. 
But  is  there  any  fuch  diftinftion,  as  muft  be  implied 
in  God's  being  a  rewarder  of  the  righteous,  to  be 
feen  in  the  prefent  world  ? 

Let  it  not  here  be  faid,  that  virtue  is  its  own  re- 
ward; and  therefore,  that  the  righteous  are,  even  in 
this  world,  more  happy  than  the  wicked:  for  this  ii» 
not  at  all  to  the  point.  If  virtue  is  its  own  reward, 
that  is  one  thing ;  if  God  is  a  rewarder  of  the  virtu- 


,  16 

ous,that  is  another.  If  the  righteous  arc  really  more 
happy  than  the  wicked, that,  again, is  one  thing;  and 
if  there  is  fuch  a  diflinclion  in  the  condition  of 
thefe  two  clafTes  of  men,  as  to  make  it  openly  and 
clearly  manifeft  that  God  is  a  rewarder  of  the  right- 
eous, that  is  another.  This  laft  is  precifely  the  point 
of  our  prefent  inquiry.  But  is  there  any  fuch  dif- 
tinclion  to  be  feen  in  this  world?  Does  not  "one 
event  happen  to  all,  to  the  good,  to  the  clean  and 
to  the  unclean?"  Does  not  God  "fend  rain  upon 
the  unjuft,  as  well  upon  the  juft?"  And  is  not  the 
general  afpecl  of  his  providence  as  favourable  to  the 
wicked  as  it  is  to  the  righteous?  Nay,  if  there  is 
any  obfervable  difference,  is  it  not  rather  in  favour  of 
the  wicked — fo  much  fo  indeed,  that  many  of  the 
righteous,  in  different  ages,  befides  Job  and  David 
and  Jeremiah,*  have  on  this  account  been  greatly 
perplexed ;  while  the  wicked  have  been  ready  to  ex- 
ult over  them  with  the  impious  taunt,  "  Where  is 
your  God.'"'  Surely  then,  to  pretend  that  the  pre- 
fent is  a  ftate  of  retribution,  or  that  the  righteous 
receive  their  reward  and  the  wicked  their  punifh- 
ment  in  this  world,  in  any  fuch  manner  and  degree, 
as  to  make  it  manifefl:,  that  God  is  a  rewarder  of 
them  that  diligently  feek  him,  is  to  go  directly  in 
the  face  of  the  experience  and  obfervation  of  all  ages. 
Nor  is  it  lefs  repugnant  to  the  reprefentations  of  in- 
fpired  truth. 

Not  only  do  the  fcriptures  teftify,  that  neither  love 
nor  hatred  is  to  be  known  by  the  conditions  of  men 
in  the  prefent  world  ;  but  they  alfo  conftantly  re- 
fer us  to  the  day  of  judgment,  and  to  a  future 
•ftate,  both  for  tjie  reward  of  the  righteous,  and  for 
the  punilhment  of  the  wicked.  "  Great,"  faid  the 
Redeemer  to  his  fuffering  difciples,  "  Great  is  your 
reward." — Where  ^ — Not  on  earth  ;  but  "  in  heav- 
en." It  is  not  in  this  world,  but  in  that  which  is 
to  come,  that  "  God  hath  laid  up,  for  them  that 
love  him,  what  eye  hath  not  feen,  nor  ear  heard, 

•Job  xxi.  7.    Ps.  Ixxlii.  2 — 14.     Jer.  xii.  1,  3. 


17 

nor  the  heart  of  man  conceived."  It  is  not  during 
their  continuance  in  the  prefent  probationary  fccne, 
but  at  the  great  and  final  day,  that  "  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  judge,  will  confer,  on  all  them  that  love 
his  appearing,  the  crown  of  glory  w^hich  fhall  never 
fade  away."  Then,  and  not  till  then,  will  he  ap- 
pear before  the  univerfe,  as  the  rewarder  of  them 
that  diligently  feek  him  ;  and  he  is,  therefore,  "not 
afliamed  to  be  called  their  God,  becaufe  he  has  pre- 
pared for  them  a  city." — Nor  lefs  explicit  and  full 
are  the  fcriptures,  in  referring  us  to  futurity  for  the 
punifliment  of  the  wicked.  It  is  "  unto  the  day  of 
judgment,"  that  "the  Lordknoweth  how  to  referve 
the  unjuft  to  be  puniflied."  It  is  at  that  moment- 
ous day,  that  the  fentence  is  to  be  pronounced  up- 
on them,  "  Depart  from  me,  ye  curfed,  into  ever-t 
lading  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels." 

On  the  whole,  the  future  reward  of  the  righteous 
and  the  future  punifhment  of  the  wicked  reft,  as  ar- 
ticles of  religious  belief,  on  the  fame  general  bafis. 
They  equally  refult  from  the  moral  perfections  of 
God;  they  are  declared,  with  equal  clearnefs,  in  his 
word  ;  they  reciprocally  and  necelTarily  imply  each 
other ;  and  to  affirm,  or  to  deny  either  of  them,  is 
virtually  to  affirm,  or  to  deny  them  both.  They 
muft  ftand  or  fall  together.  Hence,  as  the  doftrine 
of  the  future  reward  of  the  righteous  is  a  funda- 
mental article  of  true  religion;  the  correlative  doc- 
trine of  future  punifliment  is  equally  fundamental. 

2.  A  denial  of  future  punifliment  is  virtually  a 
denial  of  the  probationary  ftate. 

What  do  we  properly  underftand  by  the  ftate  of 
probation  ? — Is  it  not  a  ftate  of  trial,  with  reference 
to  futurity  ?  Is  it  not  a  ftate  in  which,  under  vari- 
ous divine  difpenfations,  mankind  are  ading  for 
future  retributions  ?  Are  forming  as  "  vcffels  of 
mercy  prepared  unto  glory,"  or  as  "veffels  of  wrath 
fitted  for  deftruclion  ?"  Is  not  this  the  plain  fcrip- 
tural  reprefentation  of  the  ftate  of  mankind,  in  the 


IS 

prefent  world  ?  Do  not  the  fcriptures  conftantly 
inculaite,  that  "  every  one  of  us  muft  give  an  ac^ 
count  of  himfelf  to  God  ;'*  that  "  every  work  will 
be  brought  into  judgment,  with  every  fecret  thing, 
whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  evil;"  and 
that  every  man  will  be  adjudged  and  recompenfed 
'•  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body  ?"  But 
all  this,  if  there  be  no  future  punifliment  for  the 
wicked,  is  falfe  and  deceptive.  If,  in  the  future 
world,  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  are  all  to  be 
placed  in  the  fame  Hate,  v/hatcver  that  ftate  may 
be  ;  then  the  prefent  can  be,  in  no  proper  fenfe,  a 
ftate  of  probation  :  men  are  not  in  this  world  on 
trial  with  reference  to  futurity  ;  they  are  not  to  be 
recompenfed  hereafter  according  to  the  deeds  done 
in  the  body  ;  and  their  happinefs,  or  mifery,  in 
another  world,  does  not  depend  on  their  obeying, 
or  not  obeying  the  gofpel  in  this. 

What  then  ?  Why  then  the  prefent  Hate  is  only 
a  vail  fcene  of  confufion,  where  mankind  may  live 
as  they  lift,  and  fare  as  they  can,  without  any 
thing  to  dread,  or  any  thing  to  hope  for  hereafter, 
on  account  of  what  they  do,  or 'neglect  to  do  here ; 
neither  the  calamities  which  they  fuffer,  nor  the 
bleffings  which  they  enjoy,  in  this  life,  have  any  af- 
pccf  to  the  future  ;  if  they  obey  the  gofpel  and 
v/alk  humbly  with  God,  it  is  well,  if  not,  it  is 
equally  well,  as  it  regards  their  condition  in  the 
world  to  come  !  The  promifes  and  the  threatcnings 
of  the  Bible  are  vain,  and  entitled  to  no  regard ; 
the  Judgment  of  the  great  day  is  but  a  ftupendous 
mockery  ;  and  the  future  condition  of  men  may  be 
happy  or  miferable,  as  blind  fate,  or  fond  caprice 
may  determine  !  Yes  ;  if  there  be  no  future  pun- 
iihment  for  the  wicked,  the  notion  of  a  probation- 
ary ftate  is  a  dream. 

3.  A  denial  of  future  punifliment  goes  to  a  deni- 
al of  the  wifdom,  the  goodnefs,  and  the  equity  of 
divine  providence. 


19 

Under  the  general  notion  of  divine  providence, 
we  properly  comprife  all  the  various  conditions  and 
circumllances  of:  mankind  ;  their  profperity  and 
their  adverlity,  their  privileges  and  their  priva- 
tions, their  joys  and  their  forrows.  That  the 
difpenfations  of  providence  are  exceedingly  differ- 
ent, towards  the  different  individuals,  as  well  as  fa- 
milies and  nations  of  mankind,  is  manifeft  to  all ; 
nor  is  it  lefs  manifeft,  that  the  diverlilicd  conditions 
and  circumftances  of  men,  are  not  according  to 
their  refpeclive  characters.  This  has  been  feen  and 
acknowledged  in  all  ages,  by  Pagans,  Jews,  and 
Chriftians.  But  how  is  this  to  be  reconciled  with 
wifdom,  goodnefs,  or  equity  ?  It  is  by  viewing  the 
prefent  world  in  connexion  with  the  future.  Con- 
sidering the  prefent  as  only  a  ftatc  of  trial,  and  the 
various  difpenfations  of  providence  here,  as  having 
all  of  them  a  reference  to  future  retributions  ; 
reflecling  men  have  rcfted  in  the  belief,  that,  when 
the  recompenccs  of  the  future  world  fliall  be  award- 
ed, with  exact  regard  to  the  circumftances  of  the 
prefent,  all  the  darknefs,  which  furrounds  the  di- 
vine throne,  will  be  difpelled,  and  all  the  ways  of 
God  towards  men  will  be  clearly  and  glorioufly 
vindicated.  The  Pfalmift  of  Ifrael  was  greatly  per- 
plexed, refpecting  the  profperity  of  the  wicked,  un- 
til he  went  into  the  ftmcluary  of  God,  and  there 
learned  their  end. 

But  by  a  denial  of  future  punliliment,  and,  con- 
fequently,  of  future  reward,  this  method  of  vin- 
dicating divine  providence  is  utterly  fet  aiidc  ;  and 
we  are  at  once  thrown  back  to  contemplate  the 
icenes  of  the  prefent  v/orld,  without  any  regard  to 
the  future.  But  into  v/hat  "  a  horror  of  great 
darknefs'*  are  we  thus  throv/n  ! — Viev.-in;:;  the  con- 
ditions and  circumftances  of  men  here,  without  any 
refpect  to  rewards  or  punifliments  hereafter,  what 
can  we  fee  of  wifdom,  of  goodncls,  or  of  equity, 
in  all  this  mighty  maze  ?  What  is  there  of  wif- 
dom, of  goodnefs,  or   of  equity,  in    the  unequal 


20 

diftrlbut'ions  of  profperity  and  adverfity,  privilege* 
and  privations,  comforts  and  fufFerings  ?  What,  in 
the  depreflions  of  the  good,  and  the  elevations  of 
the  bad  ?  What,  in  giving  the  gofpel,  and  the  va^ 
rious  inftituted  means  of  religious  inftruclion, 
warning,  and  encouragement  to  fome,  and  vt^ith^ 
holding  them  from  others,  or  even,  indeed,  in  givr 
ing  them  to  any?  What,  in  fine,  in  any  of  the  dif- 
penfations  of  God  tomen?  If  there  be  nopunifliment 
for  the  wicked,  nor  reward  for  the  righteous;  if, 
in  alloting  the  conditions  of  the  future  world,  there, 
is  to  be  no  refped:  to  the  characters  or  circumflan^ 
ces  of  the  prefent ;  then  the  prefent  moral  world 
can  be  regarded  only  as  a  vaft  chaos,  "  without  form 
and  void,"  and  the  providence  by  which  it  is  gov- 
erned, as  utterly  deftitute  of  wifdom,  of  goodnefs, 
and  of  equity! 

4.  A  denial  of  future  punifhment  is  virtually  ^ 
denial  of  the  gofpel. 

The  grand  declaration  of  the  gofpel  is,  "He  that 
belicveth  ftiall  be  faved,  and  he  that  believeth  not 
fhall  be  damned.**  But,  if  there  be  no  future  punr 
ifliment  for  the  wicked,  this  declaration  is  falfe:  for 
whether  men  believe  or  not,  they  will  not  be  damur 
ed.  And  if  unbelievers  will  not  be  damned,  for 
their  unbelief;  then  believers  will  not  be  faved  for 
their  faith :  for  be  their  ftate  what  it  may  hereafter, 
it  would  be  the  fame,  even  if  they  did  not  believe. — 
This  is  not  all. 

The  gofpel  prefents  an  atonement  for  fin,  as  the 
ground  of  pardon  and  falvation.  But,  if  God  is 
not  a  rewarder  of  the  righteous  and  punilher  of  the 
wickedjthe  dodrine  of  atonement  is  utterly  prepof- 
terous:  for  upon  this  hypothelis,  he  can  have  no 
fuch  abhorrence  of  fin,  or  complacency  in  holinefs, 
as  to  require  an  atonement  for  the  one,  or  to  confer 
a  reward  for  the  other.  What,  then,  can  be  more 
prepofterous,  than  for  the  deniers  of  future  punifli- 
ment  to  talk  of  an  atonement  for  fin,  or  of  being 


21 

pardoned  and  faved,  by  the  merits  of  the  Redeemer? 
We  are  not  ignoranj:,  indeed,  of  their  quibbles  and 
declamations  upon  this  point;  quibbles  and  declama- 
tions, by  which  they  delude  the  unwary,  but  which 
are  completely  refuted  even  by  themfelves.  For, 
while  they  talk  of  an  atonement,  and  of  being  faved 
by  the  merits  of  the  Redeemer,  they  will  alfo  tell 
you  that  fmners  are  puniflied,  as  much  as  they  de- 
ferve,  in  this  world;  at  leaft,  that  God  is  not  fuch  a 
Being  as  to  punilh  his  creatures  in  another  world, 
for  what  they  do  in  this;  and  in  effecl:,  that  fm 
is  too  trifling  a  matter  to  be  ferioufly  noticed  by  the 
infinite  Jehovah.  This,  to  be  fure,  is  perfectly  con- 
fiftent  with  the  denial  of  future  punifhmcnt;  but 
moft  palpably  inconhftcnt  with  every  correct  idea  of 
atonement,  or  of  falvation,  by  the  merits  of  the 
Redeemer. 

If  fm  is  fo  fmall  a  thing,  if  God  is  not  fuch  a  Be- 
ing as  to  punifh  his  creatures,  in  another  world,  for 
what  they  do  in  this;  w^hat  can  be  more  abfurd  than 
to  fuppofe,  that  the  Son  of  God  fliould  die  for  the 
redemption  of  finners,  or  to  think  of  being  faved 
by  the  merits  of  his  death? — Saved! — from  what? 
From  future  puuifliment?  No:  for  future  punifli- 
pient  they  do  not  deferve,  and  God  would  not  in- 
flid! — From  the  fmall  punifhment  really  due  for 
their  fins  ?  No : — for  this  they  receive  in  the  prefent 
world. — The  wrath  of  God  indeed,  whether  prefent, 
or  to  come,  mufl:  not  even  be  mentioned;  lefi:  we 
provoke  a  profane  fneer ! — Saved,  then,  from  what? 
From  their  fins  ?  No:  for,  though  they  live  in  fin 
all  their  days,  it  is  of  little  confequence  with  God; 
and  as  foon  as  they  leave  this  world,  a  fight  of  his 
glory  will  purge  them  at  once  !  From  what,  then, 
are  men  to  be  faved  by  the  merits  of  Chrift  ?  This 
quefl:ion  we  muft  leave,  for  the  deniers  of  future 
punifliment  to  anfwer. 

It  is  further  to  be  obferved,  however,  that  the 
whole  gofpcl  evidently  proceeds  on  the  ground,  that 


22 

mankind,  in  this  world,  are  on  probation  for  retri- 
butions of  reward  and  punifliment  in  the  world  to 
coine.  But  if  there  is  to  be  no  future  punifliment, 
this  ground  has  no  reality  ;  and  the  whole  gofpel 
which  proceeds  upon  it  is  fallacious. 

So  plain  it  is,  that  to  deny  future  punifliment  is 
virtually  to  deny  the  gofpel.  It  is  to  deny  its  fun- 
damental principles, its  promifes  and  its  threatenings, 
and,  generally,  its  doctrines  and  declarations. 

5.  A  denial  of  future  punifliment  goes  to  a  deni- 
al of  the  moral  perfections  of  God. 

If  there  is  to  be  no  future  punifliment,  but,  in  the 
world  to  come,mankindare  allto  be  placed  in  the  fame 
ftate;  then  God  is  neither  the  punifher  of  the  wick- 
ed, nor  the  rewarder  of  the  righteous ;  the  prefent 
is  in  no  proper  fenfe  a  fl:ate  of  probation  ;  this  dark 
and  confufed  fcene  of  things  is  under  a  providence, 
if  providence  it  may  be  called,  in  Vvdiich  there  is  nei- 
ther wifdom,  nor  goodnefs,  nor  equity ;  and  the 
gofpel  and  all  which  God  has  reprefented  in  his  word, 
refpecling  the  prefent  ilate  in  conni:xion  with 
the  future,  is  effentially  falfe.  But  if  fb — if  God 
is  not  a  rewarder  of  the  righteous,  nor  a  puniflier 
of  the  wicked ;  if  he  governs  the  world  without 
wifdom,  without  goodnefs,  and  without  equity;  and 
if,  in  his  word,  his  reprefentations  are  falfe  and  delu- 
five;  then,  furely,  he  cannot  be  a  God  of  holinefs, 
juftice,  goodnefs,  or  truth. 

Will  it  be  faid,  that  God  loves  his  creatures,  and 
will  make  them  all  happy;  and  muft,  therefore,  be 
acknowieds^ed  to  be  2:ood  ?  God  loves  his  creatures ! 
In  what  fenfe  ?  Is  it  in  the  fenfe  of  complacency  r 
And  is  his  complacency  in  them  of  fuch  a  nature, 
as  to  make  no  cflential  diftinclion  between  the  right- 
eous and  the  wicked,  the  holy  and  the  unholy  ?  This 
is  the  very  thing,  which,  fo  far  from  proving  him 
good,  would  prove  him  to  be  devoid  of  moral  good- 
nefs.— Yet  it  is  afiirmed,  God  loves  his  creatures. 
Why  ?     Bccaufe  they  are  his  creatures.      So  does 


523 

tKc  vileft  man  on  earth  love  his  children,  bccaufe 
they  are  bis  children;  fo  alfo  does  the  moft  favage 
beaft  of  the  foreft  love  her  offsprings  becaufe  they  are 
Z>^r  offspring:  and  there  is  as  much  holinefs,  as  much 
moral  goodnefs,  in  the  natural  afledion  of  wicked 
men  for  their  children,  or  even  of  brutes  for 
their  offspring,  as  in  the  love,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  deniers  of  future  punilliment,  God 
has  for  his  creatures.  It  is  utterly  in  vain  to  pre- 
tend, that  God  is  good  in  a  truly  moral  fenfe,  be- 
caufe  he  loves  his  creatures;  fo  long  as  it  is  denied, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  that  he  delights  in  ho- 
linefs  and  abhors  iniquity;  and  is,  therefore,  a 
rewarder  of  the  righteous  and  a  puniflier  of  the 
wicked. 

But  how  is  it  known,  that  God  loves  his  crea- 
tures, and  will  make  them  happy  ?  Is  it  from  his 
providence  ?  Is  it  from  his  word?  It  has  already 
been  Ihewn  that,  if  there  be  no  future  punifhment, 
his  providence  is  unrighteous,  and  his  word  is  ialfc  ; 
and,  therefore,  neither  from  the  one,  nor  from  the 
other,  can  any  favourable  conclufions  be  drawn.  If, 
under  the  providence  of  God,  there  is  happinefs,  it 
is  no  lefs  certain  that  there  is  mifery  ;  and,  in  the 
word  of  God,  it  is  not  more  clearly  declared,  that 
he  loves  mankind,  than  that,  from  his  judgment 
feat,  the  wicked  "  Ihall  go  away  into  everlafting 
punifhment."  Indeed,  upon  the  principle  now  op- 
pofed,  the  notion  that  God  loves  his  creatures,  and 
will  make  them  happy,  is  a  mere  afTumption  ;  a 
dogma  without  proof  and  without  warrant.  Nay, 
we  may  go  further,  and  fay,  that,  if  God  is  not  a 
rev/arder  of  the  righteous  and  a  puniflier  of  the 
wicked,  all  hope  of  true  and  permanent  happincfs 
under  his  government,  either  in  time,  or  in  eter- 
nity, muft  be  utterly  groundlefs  and  dclufive. 

6.  That  religion  which  is  founded  on  a  denial  of 
a  future  punifhment,  is  a  falfc  reHgion. 

If,  as  we  have  feen,  the  doctrine  of  future  punifli- 
ment,  is  a  fundamental  article  of  true  religion  ;  the 


24 

denial  of  ihis  doci:rine  muft  be  a  fundamental  error  i 
and,  therefore,  a  religion  founded  on  this  denial 
muft  be  falfe. — I  fay  founded  on  this  denial :  for  it 
deferves  particular  notice,  that  thofe  who  deny  fu- 
ture punifhment  make  this  denial  not  only  a  part  of 
their  theory,  but  the  very  foundation  of  their  reli- 
gion ;  and  conformably  to  it  they  fhape  their  whole 
fyftem  :  their  notions  of  God,  of  his  law  and  of  his 
gofpel,  of  holinefs  and  of  lin,  of  the  prefent  world 
and  of  the  future.  And  as  the  foundation  is  falfe, 
the  fuperflruclure  throughout  is  falfe. 

Their  views  of  the  character  of  God  are  falfci 
Inftead  of  a  Being  of  infinite  holinefs,  juftice,  good- 
nefs,  and  trjith  ;  they  make  him  a  being  devoid  of 
all  thefe  glorious  perfections.  Their  views  of  the 
law  of  God  are  falfe.  Inftead  of  a  perfect  law  of 
reditude  ;  they  make  it  a  law  unreafonable  in  its 
precepts,  and  unrighteous  and  cruel  in  its  fanclions* 
Their  views  of  the  providence  of  God  are  falfe* 
They  make  it  a  providence  without  Vv'ifdom,  with- 
out goodnefs,  and  without  equity.  Their  views  of 
holinefs  and  of  fm  are  falfe  :  for  according  to  them, 
between  holinefs  and  iin,  there  is  no  very  eflential 
or  important  difference  ;  furely  no  fuch  difference, 
that  there  ftiould  be  a  reward  for  the  one,  or  a  pun- 
ifhment for  the  other,  beyond  the  prefent  ftate. 
Their  views  of  the  gofpel  are  falfe.  Inftead  of  a 
*'  doclrine  according  to  godlinefs,"  which  holds  out 
falvation  with  eternal  glory,  to  all  who  truly  re- 
pent and  believe,  and  damnation  with  everlafting 
infamy,  to  the  impenitent  and  unbelieving ;  they 
make  it  an  unholy  and  unjuft  proclamation  of  ex- 
emption from  punifhment,  of  liberty  in  fm,  and  of 
eternal  felicity  to  the  wicked  as  well  as  to  the  right- 
eous. Their  views  of  the  prefent  ftate  of  mankind 
are  falfe.  Inftead  of  a  ftate  of  probation,  with  re- 
ference to  future  rewards  and  punifhments ;  they 
make  it  a  fcene  of  darknefs  and  confufion,  without 
any  wife  defign,  or  benevolent  end.  Their  views 
©f  the  world  to  come  are  falfe.     Inftead  of  a  world 


25 

of  glorious,  and  of  dreadful  retribution^  refpeftivelf 
to  the  righteous  and  to  the  wicked  ;  they  make  it 
a  ftate  where  all  mankind,,  the  bad*  as  well  as  the 
good,*  Ihall  be  happy,  for  what  reafon,  or  by  what 
means,  we  know  not.  Their  boafted  love  to  God 
and  men  is  falfe  ;  their  faith  is  falfe ;  their  hopes 
are  falfe  ;  their  joys  are  falfe.  And  when  "judg- 
ment Ihall  be  laid  to  the  line,  and  righteoufnefs  to  the 
plummet,  the  hail  fhall  fweep  away  the  refuge  of 
lies,  and  the  waters  fhall  overflow  the  hiding  place ; 
and  their  covenant  with  death  fhall  be  difannulled, 
and  their  agreement  with  hell  Ihall  not  (land.**! 

As  the  whole  fyflem,  in  all  its  principles  and  in 
all  its  parts,  is  falfe ;  fo  it  is  maintained  and  pro^ 
moted,  by  means  of  falfehood.  It  is  maintained 
and  promoted  by  forced  and  falfe  conftruclions  of 
the  fcriptures,  and  by  deceptive  and  falfe  reprefent- 
ations  of  God  and  of  man,  of  heaven  and  of  hell,  and 
of  every  thing  pertaining  to  the  fcriptures  ;  in  a 
word,  "  by  the  fleight  of  men  and  cunning  crafti- 
nefs,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive.'' 

7.  That  religion  which  pretends  to  be  fcriptural, 
and  yet  is  founded  on  a  denial  of  future  punifli- 
ment,  is  worfe  than  deifm,  worfe  than  paganifm. 

It  is  worfe,  as  it  evinces  greater  hardinefs  of  de- 
pravity ;  worfe,  as  it  is  more  dangerous  for  thofe 
who  embrace  it ;  and  worfe,  as  it  is  more  perni- 
cious in  its  influence  on  fociety. 

It  is  worfe,  as  it  evinces  greater  hardinefs  of  de- 
pravity.— Do  the  deifl:  and  the  pagan  fet  afide  the 
evidences  of  revelation,  and  deny  that  the  fcriptures 
are  from  God  ?  This,  to  be  fure,  is  much:  but  is  it 
not  ft  ill  more  for  men,  who  acknowledge  the  fcrip' 
tures  to  be  the  word  of  God,  yet  boldly  to  fet  aiide 

D 

•  It  can  avail  nothing  to  saj',  that,  on  leavinp^  this  world,  all  mankind 
will  be  good :  for  not  only  is  this  said  withmiL  proof,  and  in  direct  coiUra- 
diclion  10  the  scriptures;  but,  even  on  the  supposition  of  its  truth,  alt 
the  horrid  consequences,  mentioned  above,  relatinij  to  the  probationary 
Biate,  to  providence,  to  the  gospel,  and  tlve  character  ol  God,  mwn  wtiU 
cusue. 

t  I=a,  xxvili.  17,  18. 


26 

their  whole  defign,  and  deny  their  plaineft  and  moft 
iirjportant  truths  ?  Do  the  deift  and  the  pagan,  with- 
out regard  to  the  fcriptures,  frame  notions  of  God, 
and  of  religion,  according  to  their  vain  imagina- 
tions ?  This  alfo  is  much  :  but  is  it  not  ftiil  more 
for  men,  with  the  Bible  in  their  hands,  to  frame 
notions  of  God,  and  of  religion,  according  to  their 
vain  imaginations,  and  prefumptuoufly  to  palm  tiieir 
fallacious  notions  upon  the  ignorant  and  unwary,  as 
the  truths  of  infpiration  ? — The  deift  and  the  pagan, 
indeed,  go  afide  from  God,  and  do  much  to  difhon- 
our  his  holy  name  ;  but  thofe  who  pretend  to  hold 
the  fcriptures,  and  yet  deny  future  punifhment,  go 
directly  in  the  face  of  God  ;  and  while  they  ftrip 
him  of  his  glory,  and  demolifli  the  whole  fyftem  of 
his  truth,  have  the  audacious  hardinefs  to  call  upon 
him  to  fanclion  the  impious  work ! 

This  falfe  religion  is  alfo  more  dangerous  than 
deifm  or  paganifm,  for  thofe  who  embrace  it.  It 
is  more  dangerous,  becaufe  it  is  more  dcfperately  af- 
fronting to  God ;  and  is,  therefore,  of  greater  tur- 
pitude and  criminality.  But  this  is  not  all.  It  is, 
beyond  all  others,  a  ftrong  delufion.  It  pretends  to 
higher  authority,  than  either  deifm  or  paganifm  ; 
and,  in  its  nature,  is  more  iiiited  to  feduce  and  be- 
guile the  hearts  of  men,  and  to  hold  them  faft  in 
its  direful  enchantment.  Under  the  pretended  au- 
thority of  Heaven,  it  promifes  exemption  from 
punifhment,  and  a  future  ftate  of  happinefs  to  all 
men,  as  matters  of  abfolute  certainty.  This  is  more 
than  deifm  or  paganifm  has  ventured  to  do  ;  and, 
than  this,  nothing  can  be  more  feduclive  or  dan- 
gerous, to  thofe  who  love  to  be  deceived. 

Nor  lefs  evident  is  it,  that  this  falfe  religion  Is 
more  pernicious,  than  either  deifm  or  paganifm,  in 
its  influence  on  fociety.  The  deift  is  not  certain, 
vv'hether  his  God  is  a  rcwarder  of  the  virtuous  and 
a  puniflier  of  the  vicious,  or  not.  The  pagan  be- 
lieves that  his  god,  or  gods,  will  reward  the  good, 
and  punifh  the  bad.  Both  in  deifm  and  in  pagan- 
ifm,  therefore,   there  is   fomething  to  iniprefs   a 


I 


27 

dread  of  what  may  be  hereafter,  and  to  hold  the 
evil  propenfities  and  paflions  of  men  in  check.  Not 
fo  in  this  falfe  religion,  which  pretends  to  have  the 
fcriptures  for  its  fupport.  It  imprefles  upon  its  be- 
lievers no  dread  of  what  may  be  hereattcr ;  and 
lays  no  reftraint  on  their  evil  propenfities  and 
paiHons.  On  the  contrary,  as  it  "  promifes  them 
life,  though  they  walk  in  the  imagination  of  their 
own  hearts"  ;  it  throws  off,  fo  far  as  it  has  influ- 
ence, all  reflraint,  and  gives  unbounded  licence  to 
every  paffion  and  lufl. 

Let  us  not  be  told  here,  that  this  religion  pro- 
motes love  to  God;  and,  by  this  love,  reftrviins  men 
from  vice.  Promotes  love  to  God  ! — To  what 
God  ?— To  the  Holy  One  of  Ifrael  ?  No  :  but  to 
an  imaginary  being,  who  neither  delights  in  holi- 
nefs,  nor  abhors  fm  ;  at  leaO,  not  to  fuch  a  degree, 
as  either  to  reward  the  one,  or  punifli  the  other ;  and 
is,  therefore,  juft  "  fuch  an  one,"  as  the  vilefl  of 
the  vile  would  have.  And  is  the  love  of  fuch  a 
god,  a  love  which  will  reftrain  the  vicious  propen- 
fities and  paiTions  of  men  ?  No  :  it  is  a  love,  in  its 
nature  the  mofl  depraved,  and  which,  the  more  it 
abounds,  the  more  it  becomes  a  prolific  fource  of 
all  that  is  finful  and  vicious. 

Doubtlefs  it  may  flatter  the  pride,  or  the  vanity, 
of  men  of  corrupt  minds,  to  be  told,  that  they  need 
not  the  threatenings  of  future  punifhment  to  deter 
them  from  vice,  or  the  promifes  of  future  reward 
to  incite  them  to  virtue.  It  may  accord  with  their 
feelings  and  views,  alfo,  to  be  told,  that  the  religion 
which  has  refpect  to  rewards  and  punifhments,  is 
mercenary  and  fervile  ;  and  much  to  this  effecl  has 
been  faid,  not  by  the  denicrs  of  future  punifhment 
only,  but  alfo,  and  in  a  better  manner,  by  Shaftf- 
bury  and  Paine,  and  other  diftinguifhed  infidels. 
But  it  behoves  thofe,  who  fondly  liften  to  thefe  de- 
ceptions, who  laugh  at  the  wrath  of  God,  and 
make  a  jeft  of  hell-fire,  ferioufly  to  remember,  that 
threatenings  of  punifhment  andpromifes  of  reward — 


28 

of  punifhment  the  moft  tremendous,  and  reward 
the  moft  glorious,  are  conftantly  held  out  in  the 
fcriptures  ;  not  as  human  devices,  but  as  means 
which  infinite  wiidom  has  feen  fit  to  employ,  to 
deter  men  from  vice,  and  incite  them  to  virtue — to 
fave  them  from  deftruclion,  and  raife  them  to  glory. 
And  the  experience  of  ages  can  teftify,  that,  gener- 
ally, in  proportion  as  men  rid  themfelves  of  the 
fear  of  future  punifhment,  and  the  hope  of.  future 
reward,  they  are  prepared  to  run  with  greedinefs 
into  every  excefs  of  depravity. 

Indeed,  there  can  be  nothing  of  more  pernicious 
influence  on  fociety,  than  a  religion,  if  religion  it 
may  be  called,  which  denies  the  future  punilhment 
of  the  wicked.  It  gives  falfe  views  of  God,  and  of 
every  thing  relating  to  eternity  ;  it  levels  the  dif- 
tinclion  between  virtue  and  vice,  holinefs  and  fin  'y 
it  unhinges  the  minds  of  men,  in-regard  to  all  di- 
vine truth,  and  all  moral  principle ;  it  fubverts  the 
foundations  of  religion  and  morality,  and  removes 
the  moft  powerful  reftraints  from  the  corrupt  pro- 
penfities  and  paflions  of  depraved  men.  And^ 
though  in  places,  where  this  falfe  religion  is  new, 
and  where  many  circumftances  confpire  to  counter- 
acV  its  tendency,  its  pernicious  effects  may  not  at 
once  appear  ;  yet  facts,  ftubborn  and  notorious 
facts,  moft  amply  and  lamentably  teftify,  that  where 
it  has  had  for  any  confiderable  time  any  confidera- 
ble  prevalence,  a  moft  deplorable  dilTolution  of  mo- 
rals and  of  manners  has  enfued.  Surely,  then,  its 
prevalence  ought  to  be  deprecated,  not  only  by  the 
friends  of  true  religion,  but  by  all  who  wifh  well  to 
fociety,  as  more  dreadful  than  the  contagion  of 
the  plague. 

My  brethren,  is  it  not  moft  deeply  to  be  deplor- 
ed, that  this  corrupt  and  pernicious  religion  has  an 
eftablifhment  in  this  place ;  and  is  regarded  with 
fo  little  abhorrence,  and  fo  little  concern?  Is  it  not 
to  be  lamented,  with  the  livelieft  fenfibilities,  that 
fo  many  of  the  unftable  and  the  ignorant,  the  un- 
wary and  the  young,  are  enfnared  by  its  feduclive 


29 

allurements  ? — Are  we,  then,  to  acknowledge  the 
preachers  of  it  as  minifters  of  Chrift  ;  or  a  body, 
aflbciated  for  the  fupport  of  it,  as  a  church  of 
Chrift  ?  This  furely  would  not  be  chriftian  chari- 
ty ;  it  would  be  moft  criminal  and  fatal  complaif. 
ance  ;  it  would  be  the  excefs  of  cruelty.  It  would 
be  to  encourage  feducers  in  their  work  of  feduclion, 
to  confirm  the  deluded  in  their  delufions,  and  to 
give  to  that  delufion  a  wide  and  effeftual  door  for 
its  pernicious  fpread. — No  :  love  to  God  forbids  ; 
benevolence  to  men  forbids  ;  all  that  is  facred 
in  the  blood  of  the  covenant  forbids  ;  and  before 
this  right  hand  be  given  to  fuch  a  communion, 
may  this  right  arm  perifh  from  its  focket. — 
*<I  know,  faith  He,  who  walketh  in  the  midft  of  the 
golden  candlefticks,  and  holdeth  the  ftars  in  his  own 
right  hand,  I  know  the  blafphemy  of  them  which 
fay  they  are  Jews,  and  are  not,  but  are  of  the  fyna- 
gogue  of  fatan/*  And  for  chriftians  to  hefitate,  or 
to  temporize  in  a  cafe  fo  plain,  and  fo  awfully  mo- 
mentous, is  perfidy  to  their  divine  Mafter  and  his 
caufe,  and  deftrudion  to  the  fouls  of  men. 

My  hearers,  let  me  entreat  you  all  to  take  warn- 
ing, and  avoid  this  fedudive  and  pernicious  error. 
If  once  it  feize  upon  your  minds,  it  will  eat  as  doth 
a  canker.  Remember,  that  "  he  that  cometh  un- 
to God  muft  belicA'e  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  re- 
warder  of  them  that  diligently  feek  him."  But  as 
furely  as  there  is  a  glorious  reward  for  the  right- 
eous, there  is  alfo  a  ftrange  punifliment  for  the  work- 
ers of  iniquity.  "It  is  indeed  a  faithful  faying,  and 
worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Chrift  Jefus  came  in- 
to the  world  to  fave  finners."  If  you  would  be 
faved  by  him,  however,  you  muft  repent  and  obey 
his  gofpel.  Hearken  then  to  his  warning,  and  to 
his  inviting  voice.  Let  his  love,  that  unfpeakable 
love,  which  he  difplayed  on  the  crofs  when  he  died 
for  you,  tenderly  afie<ft  your  hearts,  and  con- 
ftrain  you  repentantly  to  turn  from  fin,  and  grate- 
fully to  lay  hold  on  tlie  hope  fet  before  you.  O, 
refufe  not  his  call ;  defpifc  not  his  grace  :  for  how 
cm  you  cfcape,  if  you  neglect  his  great  falvation  ? 


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